Your most important investment up front is establishing what trees grow well in your area, and are sympathetic to the ministrations of a beginner. Best way to do that is to find a local club or nursery and go for a visit. Once you've narrowed it down, make a choice based on what you like and what you have the right environment to keep it in. When you ask about suitable material, tell experienced people where you are going to keep it. Take the time and make the effort to find the right material!!!

Then, buy yourself a reasonable quality concave cutter of appropriate size for the material you plan to work with. Go get a nice delicious steamy Chinese takeout, eat it and keep the chopsticks and you are probably good for your first year. Add a bit of wire and the rest of the stuff you can probably scrounge from your existing tools. Rather spend money on a bit more material than on a whole bunch of tools that you don't really need up front. You'll find the additional trees will give you more to do and keep your interest better that a bunch of tools. You'll find with bonsai that you can use 10% of your tools 90% of the time, and for the other 10% of the time, you can make a plan! The other 90% of your tools are nice to have's that increase in value with experience. You'll want better ones later anyway.

Oh, and irritate us all on here with loads of stoopid questions. That's what we're here for! :cheers:As sarcastic as it sounds I'm being genuine! There's no such thing as a stoopid question.

_________________Jim Lewis - lewisjk@windstream.net - Western NC - People, when Columbus discovered this country, it was plumb full of nuts and berries. And I'm right here to tell you the berries are just about all gone. Uncle Dave Macon, old-time country musician